[SmithL]

If you think you're going to cry but the situation is inappropriate, follow these suggestions from Peggy Klaus, communication coach and author of the forthcoming "The Hard Truth About Soft Skills" (Collins, $14.95):

• Take deep breaths. The oxygen helps clear your mind and calm you down.

• Excuse yourself and head to the privacy of a bathroom stall. Stay there until you feel composed.

• Be prepared. Know your emotional hot buttons. Ask yourself the "what ifs," particularly before work meetings.

• Separate your identity from the work project. When someone questions your opinion, don't take it as rejection.

• Pinch yourself or dig your nails into your palm. Both sensations take your mind off the reason you wanted to cry.

  -- Jessica Yadegaran

  A Timeline of tears

  The waterworks of these celebrities and public figures have had a far wider audience than yours ever will:

• Last month, President George W. Bush had tears in his eyes during a tour of Israel's Holocaust Museum.

• Former "American Idol" contestant Kelly Pickler broke down while singing at the Country Music Awards in November.

• In October, Ellen DeGeneres sobbed on her talk show over the plight of Iggy the adopted terrier.

• Yankees broadcaster Suzyn Waldman got choked up after the team was eliminated from the playoffs in October.

• Paula Abdul always cries.

• Football player Emmet Smith bawled at his retirement back in 2005.

• Best actress winner Gwyneth Paltrow wept through her acceptance speech at the 1999 Academy Awards.

• Senator Ed Muskie shed a tear -- or was it a falling snowflake? -- defending his wife during his 1972 bid for president.

[MacDorcha]

“Men who cry are sensitive while female criers are often labeled as overly emotional or even manipulative. “

That’s less of a double standard than the article lets on. A crying man is weak. A crying woman is scary. Both are then outcast.

the “double standard” is simply observation of gender differences.

[Jeff Chandler]

The public reaction to crying is dependent upon the nature and cause of the tears. Tearing up when visiting the Holocaust Museum or when discussing the death, injury, or illness of a loved one is a normal reaction. Bawling like a baby over lesser things is viewed as a sign of weakness.

[martin_fierro]

If this woman were prevented from fanning her face with her hands, she would have exactly ZERO acting ability.

[alwaysconservative]

And now, the sHrill one is “tearing up” AGAIN on the campaign trail, and all sorts of women are going to rush to comfort her in the form of votes. Blech.

Women who use tears to manipulate others set back real women for YEARS. I resent her use of tears.

[Rudder]

Slow news day...